On Sept. 29, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged multiple entities for defrauding hundreds of retail investors, including many in the U.S. These entities were likely operated
On Sept. 29, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged multiple entities for defrauding hundreds of retail investors, including many in the U.S.
These entities were likely operated by individuals located overseas who stole at least $15 million from regular people through "investment confidence scams," the regulatory body alleged.
These kind of scams involve fraudsters building online relationships with vulnerable people before stealing their money.
Related: 100 Coinbase users lose millions to fake support calls
The SEC said it charged two separate complaints, both in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, against (a) Cryptoaiml Ltd. and Cryptoaiml Capital Foundation, and (b) TSAI Pro Ltd. and TSAI Capital Foundation.
The regulator alleged that these entities pretended to be SEC-compliant, only to misappropriate more than $12.5 million and $2.8 million from unwitting investors.
Cryptoaiml and Cryptoaiml Capital Foundation formed WhatsApp group chats from at least August 2024 through March 2025, posing as investment professionals. They issued AI-generated trading signals, and promised huge profits to gain the trust of unsuspecting retail investors, the SEC's complaint said.
These investors opened their accounts on a fake trading platform and transferred their cryptocurrencies to the platform. Since these platforms weren't genuine, no trading ever happened, and the reflected profits were fictitious, the SEC alleged.
In fact, the investors who tried withdrawing their funds were told their accounts were frozen until they paid fraudulent advance fees, the agency further alleged.
As per the second SEC complaint, TSAI Pro Ltd. and TSAI Capital Foundation promoted a fake high-profit investment scheme over WhatsApp and Facebook.
The entities promoted an AI trading bot platform to which investors could transfer funds, and the bot would trade on their behalf. They also told investors that they could earn money by recruiting others to invest in the program, as per the SEC.
Similar to the Cryptoaiml and Cryptoaiml Capital Foundation, TSAI Pro Ltd. and TSAI Capital Foundation claimed to be SEC-compliant, the regulator alleged.
David Woodcock, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, urged the public to report such scams to the agency's online tip portal.
